Like ninety-nine percent of the women in the world, I don’t much care for swimsuit shopping. Considering the fact that I’ve given birth to two children (one less than half a year ago), I am actually fairly pleased with my body. But the unforgiving and often nonfunctional styles of traditional swimwear means that finding a swimsuit takes at least a few hours of searching and often fails to satisfy my needs even then.

SlimPerfect, a company that offers flattering swimsuits and activewear, claimed that they could solve my problems. Their separates collection is designed to compliment every body type, provide more coverage and disguise unsightly bulges without shifting them to other areas. Needless to say, I was delighted when I was given a chance to review their swimsuits.

My previous swimsuit was a white halter-top and bikini bottom. I am fairly happy with my upper body, so when I added a white skirt as a cover-up, I did like how I looked. However, the swimsuit created two insolvable problems for me. First, I inevitably had to face a moment of total self-consciousness and discomfort as I took off my skirt and sprinted for the water, hoping all the time that nobody was looking at my jiggling thighs. And second, I continually had to check my movements both while swimming and while playing with my son for fear of accidentally flopping out of the halter-top. As the mother of an active preschooler, I had neither the interest nor the time to sit and look pretty on the beach. What I needed was comfortable mobility. I had a real problem.

Enter SlimPerfect and their revolutionary swimwear. I reviewed the Bikini Top in black and white and the SlimSkirt in black. These two pieces effortlessly solved every problem I have ever had with traditional swimwear and then some. The Bikini Top features elasticized armbands and a wide band below the chest as well as properly supportive shoulder straps. A mesh panel in front adds a little additional coverage. This is the first swimsuit top I have ever worn that both gives me proper support and ensures that my chest will stay covered no matter how active I am. The removable gel-filled bra cups offer a little extra oomph for women that want it, and the pockets that hold them are also appropriate for post mastectomy forms.

The SlimSkirt is another dream come true for me. The traditional swimsuit bikini bottom is incorporated into a sleek black skirt with a slimming flat panel in front that helps to minimize the stomach. Wearing it means that the lack of confidence I feel when I take off my skirt is a thing of the past. Now when I run for the water, my skirt comes with me and my thighs are covered!

I also reviewed the SlimDress in white and light green. It features the exact same benefits as the Bikini Top and SlimSkirt with more complete coverage that includes a taming panel around the stomach and bike shorts instead of briefs under the skirt. The SlimDress is a SlimPerfect favorite, and it’s not hard to see why. This dress is way too cute to save for the pool, and I am eagerly looking forward to warmer days so that I can wear it out around town. With its sleek, summery style and comfortable coverage, it’s the perfect dress for any occasion. I love knowing that if I have to suddenly chase down a small child, I won’t accidentally show off too much skin to anyone behind me.

SlimPerfect also offers tankinis, sleeved tankinis, and sleeved SlimDresses so that every woman is sure to find a look that’s perfect for them. With summer just around the corner, now is the perfect time to shrug off swimsuit fears and experience the many great benefits a SlimPerfect swimsuit can offer. For every conceivable bathing suit woe, SlimPerfect has a solution that is fun, fresh and fashionable so that every woman can look and feel her best!

Buy It: SlimPerfect currently has a great sale on their entire line. Shop online to save between 40% and 88% off the regular price!

The thought of cloth diapering is something that has always both intrigued and intimidated me. While I want to minimize my impact on the environment, I don’t want to add too much to my current workload. I knew that cloth diapering had come a long way in recent years, but the memories of my mother’s cloth diapering experiences haunted my memories. The endless amount of time she spent washing and folding squares of cloth into diapers, the frantic hunts for pins and the unattractive, white plastic diaper covers that were involved in the process greatly reduced the appeal of cloth diapering for me.

That’s why I was thrilled to be able to review the new Tots Bots Easy Fit diaper offered by Bummis, a company that has been a leader in cloth diapering products for almost thirty years. The Easy Fit system contains only two sizes of diapers to fit babies up to 35 lbs. The Tini Fit is especially designed for babies between 5 and 12 lbs while the classic Easy Fit accommodates babies between 8 and 35 lbs. For most mothers, myself included, the Easy Fit is the only diaper that their baby will need. This innovative all-in-one diaper promises to be the most convenient cloth diaper on the market, and I was eager to put its claims to the test.

As soon as I took the diaper out of its package, I could see that this was definitely not my mother’s old cloth diaper. The trim fitted design features soft elastics at the legs and back to protect against leaks. The exterior of the diaper was not plastic as I had expected, but instead had a cloth-like feel. The interior liner is attached to the diaper, which means that when I toss the diaper into the laundry, the doubled up liner unfolds for a thorough wash and a quick dry without me having to hunt for it in a pile of clothing.

The liner is another marvel of modern technology. It features two layers, one of bamboo-made rayon and one of polyester microfiber. Both layers are ultra-absorbent and help to ensure that a leaky diaper never becomes a concern. The attached liner also offers great versatility when I am looking for extra protection. Obviously, with a baby boy, I need more protection at the front of the diaper than I do at the back. With a quick fold of the liner, I can double up the protection at the front of the diaper to ensure that my baby has the most effective shield against leaks.

Having fought with Velcro in the dryer before, I love the laundry tabs on this diaper. When I toss it in the wash, I simply fold the tabs down so that the Velcro is covered and doesn’t stick to other pieces of clothing.

I also received a roll of Bummis Bio Soft biodegradable and flushable liners, which helped to make my first experience with cloth diapering even more convenient. When I changed my baby’s diaper, the liners made it easy to flush away the majority of the mess so that I had no need to rinse the diaper before washing it.The ultimate test came when I put my son to sleep wearing the Easy Fit. In the morning I found that he was relatively dry, but he did have some slight wetness around his legs. The following night I added an extra liner to the diaper. Sure enough, the bed was dry the next morning.

A tip for any other cloth diapering novices…When I received the diaper, I looked at the snaps on the front of it in bewilderment. “They must have some kind of decorative cover that snaps onto the diaper,” I told my husband as I examined it. A few days later as I was folding clothes, I picked up the diaper and studied the snaps a little more thoroughly. In a flash of understanding, I realized that this is how the diaper offers a sung and protective fit with only one size! The snaps tighten the diaper so that a smaller baby still has unparalleled leak protection.

For any mother that is considering cloth diapering but is unsure about how convenient it will be for her lifestyle, the Easy Fit is the perfect diaper choice. This ethically produced and easy to use diaper is a foolproof way to join the cloth-diapering revolution. With five vibrant and stylish colors to choose from as well as classic white diapers for the traditionalists, cloth diapering has never been so easy or looked so good!

Buy It: To buy the Easy Fit or other great cloth-diapering products, visit Bummis online

Win It: One lucky reader is going to win an Easy Fit diaper in white and a roll of Bio Soft liners from Bummis

Bonus Entries:· Become a Fan of Mommy Kat and Kids on Facebook· Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post· Grab my button· Follow Mommy Kat and Kids on Google Friends Connect· Subscribe to my blog by RRS Feed· Subscribe to my blog by email (2 Entries)· Follow Mommy Kat and Kids on Twitter and Tweet this: I just entered the Bummis Easy Fit giveaway at Mommy Kat and Kids http://www.mommykatandkids.com (can be tweeted once daily for extra entry)

Giveaway ends 11:59 pm CST on March 31, 2010. Open to US and Canada

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Mommy Kat and Kids and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view full Terms of Use and Policies

Unfortunately, our original Ecco Bella Blush and Compact winner didn’t leave an email address, so I couldn’t notify her about her win. While I did leave her 72 hours to respond to the post in case she happened to visit the blog, she never got in touch with me. So…the new winner of the Ecco Bella FlowerColor Blush and Paperback Duo Compact is Stephanie!Congratulations Stephanie; you have 72 hours to respond to the email I sent you. Thanks again to everyone that entered!

Like most parents of the digital age, I have a computer that’s filled with photos. And for the most part, that’s where they stay. While I definitely love being able to take so many pictures of my family, I always get frustrated trying to convert them into a format that I can enjoy at any time. Choosing which pictures to print can be an endless task and the cost of paper and ink can border on absurdity.

Fortunately, I have finally found a solution in the form of muvee Reveal software. This innovative program has allowed me to clear the clutter off of my computer and enjoy all the family photos that I have accumulated at last.

Muvee Reveal version 8 is the newest release from muvee, a company that has been offering the highest quality movie-making software for almost 10 years. This program flawlessly combines photos, videos and music to create professional looking movies that can then be burnt to DVD, saved to computer or even uploaded to Facebook or YouTube.

There are so many features that I love about this program. First of all, it analyses photos and videos, and then syncs them to the music I choose for my movie. No matter what songs I select, the photos and video follow the theme of the music. Also, it includes a magicMoments feature that allows me to choose points in my video that I want to highlight and parts that I want to exclude. Since home videos can often contain long stretches of no action, this was a great option. A music trimming feature allows me to do the same thing with my music. And an optional narration feature even allows me to plug in a microphone and narrate the movie’s events.

The different styles of movie are amazing. For the more traditional shows, classic page-turning scrapbook or rolling filmstrip styles are available. For more action-packed movies, high energy and quick moving styles like Kinetic and Hexplode pop the video from one moment to another. Even the color saturation and effects can be edited to suit my preferences. The movie below was made with the Kinetic style and gives a quick example of what muvee Reveal version 8 can do.

Customizable title and credit screens allow each movie to appear professionally complete. A logo option allows businesses to place their logo in the bottom corner of the screen throughout the movie. And when both media and music are added, a handy tips feature advises me on whether or not I have the correct ratio of media to music to ensure that my movie will look its absolute best.

My husband and I got the chance to put this software to the ultimate test after my son’s first field trip with his playschool class. My husband compiled more than 200 pictures and four songs into an amazing half-hour scrapbook-style video and then burnt DVDs for every parent. As an added bonus, he was able to choose the number of discs that he wanted to burn so that after the video encoded he only had to make a quick switch of the discs to burn all of the necessary copies.

While the program does have a glitch or two (it caused my poor outdated computer to freeze up a few times), it has some nice built-in protections for such occasions. When I restarted the program after it froze, I was given the option of reloading my previous session. Less than a minute later all of my photos, videos and music were back in place and my movie was ready to be saved.

Best of all, I am finally converting my photos and video into a format that I can enjoy at any time and share with anyone. I love being able to pop in a DVD and watch my family’s memories whenever I want. And my husband has really enjoyed being able to share his movies with relatives in other places by uploading them to Facebook. Thanks to muvee Reveal version 8, our photos are presented in the most professional way imaginable and our videos are the envy of the town.

To Enter (mandatory): Visit muvee and tell me something you liked or something you learned there

Bonus Entries:· Become a Fan of Mommy Kat and Kids on Facebook· Become a Fan of muvee on Facebook· Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post· Grab my button· Follow Mommy Kat and Kids on Google Friends Connect· Subscribe to my blog by RRS Feed· Subscribe to my blog by email (2 Entries)· Follow Mommy Kat and Kids on Twitter and Tweet this: I just entered the muvee Reveal giveaway at Mommy Kat and Kids http://www.mommykatandkids.com (can be tweeted once daily for extra entry)

Giveaway ends 11:59 pm CST on March 31, 2010. Open to US and Canada

Disclaimer: The product/s mentioned above have been given free of charge from the manufacturer or PR firm for the purposes of this review. Opinions expressed belong to Mommy Kat and Kids and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view full Terms of Use and Policies

Being the only female in a house full of males definitely has a few advantages. I know much more about engines and home repairs than I used to and, thanks to my preschool son’s toy car obsession, I can almost always accurately name a car’s year, make and model.

Unfortunately, I have had to sacrifice certain pleasures in exchange for my wealth of newfound knowledge. Bubble baths and high-quality chocolates have been lost in the raging rush of parenthood. Girls’ night out has been brushed aside by the demands of my newborn. And shopping for anything exclusively feminine is out of the question. In fact, the closest I get to shopping for accessories is a quick and longing glance at a store while rushing through the mall to the supermarket.

That’s why I absolutely love online shops like Sunny and Chic Boutique. Lara Stice, owner and creator of Sunny and Chic, knows how difficult going out to shop for hair accessories can be. Her shop specializes in producing beautiful, handmade and high-quality headbands for women and girls.

Lara’s headbands are adorned with gorgeous fabric roses made in shades that range from neutral to vibrant. The headbands boast kitschy names like “Milkshake, 2 Straws” and “I Got You Babe.”

Best of all, Sunny and Chic has reached the perfect balance of everyday elegance and special occasion dressiness. While the headbands would look fabulous worn in loose hair with those favorite jeans, they would look equally great with a formal dress and an elaborate up-do. When a woman is as deprived of femininity as I am, these beautiful hair accessories are a dream come true. Lara even offers custom headbands designed to match that perfect outfit.

While I still may not be able to get out of the house and do some serious shopping, I can rest easy knowing that I can maintain a sense of style and show off my love of all things feminine without ever leaving the house. Sunny and Chic Boutique will help make sure of that.

Win It: One lucky reader is going to win their choice of headbands from Sunny and Chic (up to a $25 value)

To Enter(mandatory): Visit Sunny and Chic and tell me what your favorite headband was

Bonus Entries:

· Become a Fan of Mommy Kat and Kids on Facebook· Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post· Grab my button· Follow Mommy Kat and Kids on Google Friends Connect· Subscribe to my blog by RRS Feed· Subscribe to my blog by email (2 Entries)· Follow Mommy Kat and Kids on Twitter and Tweet this: I just entered the Sunny and Chic giveaway at Mommy Kat and Kids http://www.mommykatandkids.com (can be tweeted once daily for extra entry)

Giveaway ends 11:59 pm CST on March 15, 2010. Open to US and Canada

Disclaimer: Opinions expressed belong to Mommy Kat and Kids and are NOT influenced in any way. Please view full Terms of Use and Policies